Prison Writings and Ideas can be Key to Successful Reentry

I read with interest Chris Megerian's article called "Prison may put inmates' book on banned list' on the front page of the Ledger, 4-21-09. See below. I am suggesting another opinion - that inmates thoughts and writings may have much value to the successful reentry process.

Apparently a collection of poetry and prose written by inmates has been published by author Kal Wagenheim. Mr. Wagenheim then tried to send copies of the book into the state's prisons and the copies were confiscated by prison authorities since parts were considered inflammatory.

I have not read the book nor would I offer an opinion as to the possible inflammatory nature of the writings or the potential public safety risk that the book might cause. The Department of Corrections may be correct in screening the book before it is distributed to the larger prison populations.

However, I have obtained a copy of other writings of inmates in prison in New Jersey that is profound and insightful. This document, under 50 pages, offers critical information to us all about the needs of prisoners in the reentry process. I would agree with Kal Wagenheim's assessment of the inmates in the following statement: "The human condition is a very complex one," he said. "There's a lot of people who have done some very bad things in life, but they're also capable of doing some good things."

The City of Newark and Integrity House and many other grass roots agencies and people in Newark are in the process of submitting an application for federal funds for a reentry grant. The written information and ideas published by state inmates in a document dated January 2009, will be very helpful in crafting an application that will meet their needs while understanding their thinking and motivation towards a more positive lifestyle and future as they reenter into our communities.

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Prison may put inmates' book on banned list The Star-Ledger, April 21, 2009

In one New Jersey prison, a published collection of poems and prose penned by prisoners is in a lockup of its own while corrections authorities decide whether it is inflammatory.

Author Kal Wagenheim, who taught creative writing to some of the state's most dangerous inmates for six years, collected his students' poems, short stories and essays into a soft cover book that he published earlier this year. But when he tried to send copies of the book into the prison, a mailroom supervisor confiscated them because parts were considered inflammatory, said Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman.
"When you're dealing with prisons, safety and security are paramount," Schuman said.

A final decision on the collection, "Inside/Out: Voices From New Jersey State Prison," will be made by Corrections Commissioner George Hayman. The commissioner yesterday said he has no timetable and would meet with Wagenheim after he makes his decision.

Wagenheim said he was angry that inmates would not be able to see the writing they composed behind bars.
"I think it's ridiculous," said Wagenheim, 74, of Millburn. "What harm could there be in a book like that?"

In an e-mail sent to Wagenheim last Monday, Department of Corrections ombudsman Dan DiBenedetti said some of the topics were inappropriate.
"The book contains references to illegal activities such as gang activity, drug use, assaultive behavior and murder," he wrote.

The 187-page book features the work of 43 inmates. The majority of them carry murder or manslaughter convictions and all housed at the maximum-security prison. The collection contains a mix of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Several of the writers express regret for their criminal actions in essays with titles like "School of Hard Knocks" and "Change is Possible."
"I was 16 when I was arrested, and in prison by the age of 17," wrote Luis Beltran, who was sentenced to at least 60 years for murder. "It's like I also died that day and I am being kept alive to regret it every hour of every day."

Other writers reflected on the dangers of growing up on the street.
"Bullets poppin' out of guns/Caskets droppin' filled with sons/who look like each other./Brothers from another mother/who cried tears ... living in fear," wrote Dudley Rue, also in prison for murder.

Wagenheim, who wrote biographies of baseball legends Babe Ruth and Roberto Clemente and also taught several courses at Columbia University, was brought in to teach creative writing by Hispanic Americans for Progress, a nonprofit organization founded by inmates at New Jersey State Prison, which houses about 1,800 prisoners.

Prison officials disbanded Hispanic Americans for Progress and canceled Wagenheim's once-a-month class in 2006 after a loaded handgun and three knives were found in the prison. Hector Sanabria, a Wagenheim student who is serving a 90-year sentence for three murders, was accused of helping smuggle the weapons.

A March 2008 appellate court decision upholding the disciplinary charges against Sanabria, 48, said he used Hispanic Americans as cover to avoid being caught smuggling.

Two of Sanabria's pieces are included in Wagenheim's book. In one essay, "The Consequences of Not Caring," he reflects on the decisions that landed him in prison and the pain of not being able to see his family.
"I am a man doing 90 years to life and I understand the meaning of life more now than ever," he wrote. "I miss talking to my mother and being around my brothers and sisters. I feel their love and at the same time feel pain, because I am unable to share my love with them."

Wagenheim said the canceling of the class spurred his decision to publish the book. "I felt a sort of a duty to these men that their work would be preserved," he said.

Schuman, who declined to comment on the smuggling case, said the prison still has a variety of educational and vocational programs.
Jim Gondles, executive director of the American Correctional Association, said prison administrators generally try to keep out books that are considered harmful. "It's not unusual for them to prevent stories and books that have to do with crime and violence from the prison," he said. Inmates "don't have the constitutional right to get anything and everything they want."

Corrections spokeswoman Danielle Hunter said inmates could use "inappropriate" writing to plan crimes or encourage violent activity.
"Anything is possible," she said. "Our inmates are very creative."
Wagenheim said he hopes the collection, published with the help of a do-it-yourself service based in California, presents a more nuanced look at New Jersey's inmate population.

"The human condition is a very complex one," he said. "There's a lot of people who have done some very bad things in life, but they're also capable of doing some good things."

Chris Megerian may be reached at (609) 989-0208 or cmegerian@starledger.com.